The battle for the riches in Niger via Poverty News Blog
The war in Niger isn't so much for the land, but what is beneath it. The country has a large deposit of uranium which is needed for nuclear power. A people fight against it's government for the rights to the unclaimed uranium.The New York Times Lydia Polgreen writes an extensive piece about the battle in Niger. Until last year, the only trigger Amoumoun Halil had pulled was the one on his livestock-vaccination gun. This spring, a battered Kalashnikov rifle rested uneasily on his shoulder. When he donned his stiff fatigues, his lopsided gait and smiling eyes stood out among his hard-faced guerrilla brethren.Mr. Halil, a 40-year-old veterinary engineer, was a reluctant soldier in a rebellion that had broken out over an improbable — and as yet unrealized — bonanza in one of the world’s...
from BloombergBy Nasreen Seria The International Monetary Fund agreed with Niger's government on a new three-year loan program to boost economic growth and reduce poverty.The funds, under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility, need to be approved by the IMF board, the Washington-based lender said on its Web site today.Economic growth in Niger, one of the world's poorest countries with an annual per-capita income of $180, slowed to 3.2 percent last year after record grain production in 2006, the IMF said. The fund forecast in October that growth would accelerate to 5.6 percent in 2007 from 5.2 percent in the previous year.``Economic performance in 2007 was satisfactory,'' the lender said. ``Exports were buoyed by sharply higher prices for uranium, the main export commodity, and the... 
from the Voice of AmericaIn West Africa, Niger's ethnic Tuareg fighters have periodically led attacks for almost two decades against the government, demanding more autonomy and a greater share of uranium mining revenues in the desert north. The Niger government has responded by cracking down on the rebels by giving the army more power to conduct security operations. Reporter Phuong Tran brings VOA this report from the rebels' mountain base in northern Niger in the first part of a five-part series.Over the past year, Nigerien rebels have launched attacks in Niger's Air Mountains. They have taken government soldiers hostage, targeted electricity plants that supply energy to uranium mines, and seized trucks and weapons.The violence began almost two decades ago when rebels protested mining in... 
from You TubeGiven the country's vast oil reserves, Nigerians should theoretically be among the wealthiest populations in the world. But for the people of the Niger Delta poverty, conflict and corruption are a daily reality. Haru Mutasa and Andrew Simmons report....